Music Magazine Final Designs

1. Magazine Cover

2. Magazine Contents

3. Magazine Double Page Spread

Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 6 from 09newkieran

To create my music magazine I used a range of different technologies, ranging from computer programs to physical devices. Some of the technology I had previous experience with; and so found it easy to utilise it for what  I needed, however some I have never used before, so took some getting used to.

The software used is one of the key parts in the process of producing a magazine. The main two programs I used were Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe InDesign CS4. I have previously used Adobe Photoshop CS6, which is largely the same as the slightly older counterpart so I found it easy to use the program without needing much help. However I have not used InDesign before and so spent a small amount of time getting to know the program and how it is used. For the most part both programs were easy to use and I had no problem with using them for the task I had been set.

Photoshop Tools that were new to me: 
Spot Removal Tool, used to delete blemishes on the models face, this was very useful in making my images look very professional and clean, improving the quality. 
Clone Stamp Tool, used to replicate one section of the image onto another, in my case i used it to duplicate the background to cover an area of the wall which was damaged.

InDesign Tools that were new to me:
Text Editing Functions, such as the Spacing Tool, which allowed to me to reduce or increase the spacing between letters, meaning I could compact text when I needed it to fit a smaller area.
Add Anchor Tool, which allowed me to add more anchor points to a basic four anchor rectangle, giving me more points that I could move to completely change the shape of the rectangle.

Blogger was completely new to me, meaning I had to get used to the program for me to use it well. However, because it is just a platform for me to upload my completed work, it is not very hard to use, and so I had no problem utilizing it for my work. However, it is quite temperamental and can be prone to crashing and freezing, which hinder the the rate at which I could complete work. Although I was able to complete the work efficiently despite this.

The camera I used is my own camera, so I have previous experience in using it and had no problem with changing the cameras settings so that the camera was suitable for what I needed, for example changing the Autofocus settings to take images with varying focus, creating an effect on the image.


The original essay for this evaluation question, that is in more detail, can be found here

Evaluation Question 5

My magazine was attractive to my audience as it conformed to the same styles and designs as other electronic music magazines, so had a familiar style yet had unique content which would interest the potential audience.

My Magazine had a few unique features which I did not find on other magazines:

The sub-genre targeted - The other electronic music magazines were aimed at different sub-genres of electronic music, for example dance and 'disco' electronic, whereas my magazine is aimed at club, house and DnB.

Diverse target audience - My magazine is aimed at both women and men, from an age range of around 18-25, meaning it has a very wide range of potential audience, increasing profits

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation question 2

More presentations from Kieran


The original essay for this evaluation question, that is in more detail, can be found here

Evaluation Question 1

Created with Padlet

The original essay for this evaluation question, that is in more detail, can be found here

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Design

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Tools Used

Original Image

Step 1 - Crop 

I cropped the Image to a suitable size, so that the model was on the left portion of the page, leaving the background and right hand side of the page blank so I could input the text there.

Step 2 - Add Rectangle

I added the rectangle as the starting point of the process which makes the text mould around a shape, in this case, the model's shoulder.

Step 3 - Add Anchor Points

Using the 'Add Anchor' tool, I added more points which I could manipulate to change the shape of the rectangle, moulding it around the models shoulder.

Step 5 - Change Opacity

I then changed the opacity of the rectangle so I could see where the shoulder ended and the background began.

Step 5 - Move Anchor Point

I then moved the anchor points so that the box went around the shoulder and did not overlap.

Step 6 - Insert Text

I then added the text, so that it went around the shoulder and did not overlap.

Step 7 - Add Header Backgrounds

I then put in a dark grey rectangle behind the headers (each question) to make it stand out more.

Step 8 - Change Font Size + Colours

I then changed the fonts, colours and sizes, so that each question header was Orange with a grey background, size 15 font, all in capitals with a spacing of -100.
And the main body of writing (the answers) was also in Orator STD font, in a grey colour (the same grey as the header backgrounds) size 14 with a spacing of -100.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Photo Shoot

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Drawings and Plans

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Font Research

Font Research

Here I will test out which fonts I will use in my Music Magazines Double Page Spread.

Initial Research

I have decided to use the font 'Orator Std' as my Double Page Spreads Title font.

'Orator Std' Research

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Research

This design features a large image of the male model which covers most of the left hand half of the page. The background of the image however covers the whole double page spread, which allows the image to in fact cover the whole page. The double page spread has a very large title, which is positioned at a slight angle and employs the use of 2 different colours. I like the use of a very bold title which catches the eye very easily. The main body of text is split into three uniform columns which contrasts against the light grey background,





This design also uses a large image on the left side of the page, with a bold, two coloured title. The body of text however is only split into two columns, and has three seperate images along the bottom. It also features a smaller vertical white strip on the far right side, including more information.

Music Magazine Contents Page Design Rework

After receiving feedback that the design is too top-heavy, which after reconsideration I agree with, I altered the lower half of the design so it contains more 'stories', and also added page numbers for each story, increased the font size slightly and added a small 'producers note' at the very foot of the page. Combined, this equals out the balance of the page, and makes it less top-heavy.

Music Magazine Contents Page Design Draft

Music Magazine Contents Page Tools Used

 I used the blur tool, in combination with manual focus mode while taking the image, to create the effect shown above. By doing this, the foreground of the image is focused while the background is faded out, which creates a very professional and sleek looking image which is perfect for my magazine.

Next, I used the Gaussian Blur tool on all of the coloured boxes that are on my contents design. This gives the box a modern feel to it which compliments the design nicely. 

Next, I added 'Noise' which distorts the colour slightly, adding a 'static' look, giving the colour box texture and making it look nicer than a solid colour. 

Another tool I used was the move and resizing tool, this is very helpful for ensuring that items are in the exact place I want, and the size I want. This tool as very simple to use, as it had small boxes surrounding the frame of the image which you click and drag to change the size of the image. You can also click and drag in the centre of the image to move the location of the entity. 

Music Magazine Contents Page Photos

Music Magazine Contents Page Drawings and Plans

Music Magazine Contents Font Research

As seen from my research into contents pages, we can see that a popular design idea in Electronic music magazines is having a header which is written in Bold San-serif font in block capitals, with a different San-serif font as the main body of writing.


I have decided to follow this trend in my own magazine, using a previously used font as the Bold font, which will be the Lemon/Milk font. However I needed to find another font to use for the main body of text, which I will find out here.

Music Magazine Contents Research

‘Q’ Magazine generally features a large image on the right hand side of the page, with an elongated area for text along the left of the page. There is a consistent theme of a header featuring the name of the magazine, along with the word ‘contents’ in bold. Other minor details such as the issue number and date of publication are also present, which I could incorporate into my own magazine. The font used in the design is fairly simple, although the page layout is quite full on, with little space left, and has a somewhat cramped feel to it, which I would like to avoid in my own design.

However I would like to use the combination of dark grey and white colours, which fit very well with my current design for my cover, and also with the modern theme of electronic music.

This contents page has many of the same design traits as the previous one, with the large image on the right and text on the left.  However again, feels quite cramped. I do however like the large header.

Again, I also like the use of modern colours (grey, red and white)
I like the combination of large and small text, which draws in the readers eye and then supplies them with information on what the particular story is about. 

This design is from ‘Electronic Sound’ which focuses completely on electronic music, which is the genre that I am focusing my own design on.

As such, the design is highly relevant to the style that I will be making, and I really like the simplistic yet stylish and modern feel this design has. It combines the use of a lot of images with frequent but small sub headings with a brief description of each topic. 

This is also from Electronic Sound, however uses a lot more colour while maintaining the modern and stylish feel. I very much like the top half of the design, with a large image covering the width of the page, along with a colourful box with the magazines title and ‘what’s inside’

The boxes below with the subheadings follow the same sort of design as the previous contents page I looked at, with each subheading featuring an image with a brief description.
This layout is much more spread out than the first 2, which I would like to do in my own contents page as I feel that a more spacious design looks better than a cramped one.
The large image with a writing overlay is a nice feature, which looks good and also does its job as a header.
The boxes below have a colour 

Music Magazine Front Cover Design (With Final Image)

Music Magazine Front Cover Image Editing Process

Step 1 - Original Image

Step 2 - Blemish Removal With 'Spot Removal Tool'

Step 3 - Rough Cut Out With Eraser Tool

Step 4 - Darkening Of T-Shirt With 'Burn Tool'

Step 5 - More Accurate Cut Out With Eraser (Smaller Brush)

Step 6 - Implement Background